WRITING AND ORAL COMMUNICATION TASK FORCE
Minutes of October 21, 2002
Present: John Courtright, Michael Chajes, Jack Baroudi, Leila Lyons, Karen McCready,
Erin Sicuranza, and Julie Demgen
Guest: Jerry Beasley
Jerry stated that “Writing is an institutional issue” and that the English Department, as
primary custodian of writing on campus, is eager to participate in the Task Force’s
project. Of the 53 English faculty, 17 are in the Writing concentration, which includes
Business and Technical, Creative, Journalism, and Composition. Three of the faculty are
in Secondary Education, teaching teachers to teach writing. There are over 800 English
majors, but the Department also services the rest of the University with English 110,
English 312, and other second writing courses. He noted that of the latter, last spring
there were 1371 students taking these courses, 760 of them in English and 400 in History.
In a given semester, 70-75 sections of E110 are offered. The percentage of these classes
taught by full-time faculty is small but increasing. TAs are well-trained in the Writing
Center before going into the classroom, and there is a great dependence on S-contract
instructors. This year there will be two sections of E110 offered in Winter Session in a
pilot program, and Bonnie Albertson from CHEP will be teaching a section in the Spring.
Sections might be added in Summer Session, and on-line 110 is offered but under
review.
There are 1700 requests for E312 per year, with 40 sections offered. Eight majors require
this course, but the English Department would like these departments to look at other
options. He is impressed with what the College of Agriculture and Natural Resources is
doing with their requirements.
John asked about offering an incentive for students to take E110 on line in the summer.
Jerry said that that might work but would be labor-intensive and require students to visit
the library and have conferencing time with instructors. Jack asked about waiving 110,
and Jerry replied that 92 students had it waived this year because of SAT scores, AP
credit or transfer credit. Michael asked about a model for other departments to teach 110.
Engineering has highly motivated students, but the faculty aren’t qualified to teach
writing. Jerry said that the Writing Center could provide assistance with syllabi, lesson
plans, and evaluation, and mentioned the proposed Center for Professional
Communication, which would require faculty lines and other resources.
Michael asked about the possibility of a common hour for E110, which would cover the
basic grammar in a large group and break into the regular classes for writing. Jerry said
that it might be possible within the disciplines but that the writing itself is really the most
important thing in E110. The goal is to promote pride in the language, not just the grade.
Leila asked why E312 might work better online than E110. E312 might be more easily
adapted to online delivery than 110, but we are not doing either at the moment. The
English department does have hybrid courses that using WebCT, but also meeting faceto-face. Jerry said that the 312 students are more focused and need less face time with
instructors. He suggested that this be asked of Steve and Clyde at the next meeting. He
also pointed out that the Department uses online grammar services.
Jack asked “How do we know we have a problem?” The College of Ag actually posed
the question to their faculty, who said that there is no satisfactory way to do assessment
and that both students and faculty want a one-semester fix. Michael asked if 110
instructors have a sense of how well their students write, and Jerry said that they do. He
suggested that the instructors identify students’ weaknesses and forward that information
on to the respective colleges.
Jerry summarized that post-E110, it would be best for students to have their intensive
writing experience in their majors, but that this is not the only way to go. Writing should
also be spread over their courses. He urged the Task Force not to hesitate to ask for help
from the English Department. Clyde Moneyhun has an E110 description with content
criteria on the website. (Julie subsequently forwarded that to the Task Force.) It was also
noted that there had been interest in training courses for high school teachers, but that the
University would have required fees from the school districts, which was not going to
happen.